A Asian FA-50 fighter aircraft and its two-man team went missing while flying from a center close to the city of Cebu overnight, according to air force officials on Tuesday ( Mar 4).
The plane “minutes before reaching its target area,” according to the Philippine Air Force ( PAF ) in a statement.
According to Colonel Consuelo Castillo, a spokeswoman for the Air Force, it was the” first major event involving” its fleet of FA-50S, which have formerly been used in workouts over the contested South China Sea.
Twelve of the soldiers that South Korea purchased from the Philippines in the last ten years are still in use.
The plane went missing during a “tactical nighttime operation in support of our earth troops,” according to Castillo, while it was flying “over area” on the way to its target area.
The vision, which saw the warrior leave the Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base, was not disclosed by her.
The basic and the airports in Cebu, the second-largest area in the Philippines, share a runway.
She said,” We are optimistic that we will still be able to return” the staff. We continue to believe they are secure.
The Air Force stated in a statement that it was “proceeding extensive and thorough search procedures, utilizing all available resources, to identify the missing flight warrior aircraft.”
The FA-50s have participated in joint air guards over the strained South China Sea, where China and the Philippines have been engaged in extremely heated disputes over islands and lakes, with convention alliance the United States.
Beijing asserts almost all of the vital canal, which billions of dollars in annual trade routes through, despite a Hague decision that its claim has no constitutional basis.
The Spanish authorities was reportedly considering purchasing 12 more FA-50s, according to a local publication called the Inquirer in January.